Pauline Garon

A young wife butts head with her beautiful best friend after her husband hires the latter to be his personal secretary and then begins spending too much time at the office. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Lost in the Stratosphere is one of three Monogram vehicles for James Cagney's look-alike brother William (later a successful producer). Inspired by the U.S. Army's recent experiments with atmospheric balloons, the film stars Cagney and Edward Nugent as inveterate practical jokers Cooper and Wood. Their friendship cleft in twain by the arrival of pretty Evelyn (June Collyer). The climax occurs when one of the boys' pranks misfires, sending both of them aloft in a fragile weather balloon. By the time they've managed to land the darned thing, they've become heroes. The film's laughable special effects (one can see the process-screen clouds "bleed" through the actors) are counterbalanced by the overall energy and enthusiasm of its stars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on Al Jolson's 1931 Broadway hit, Wonder Bar transposes the "Grand Hotel" formula to a lavish nightclub in Paris' Montmartre district. Presiding over the evening's entertainment is manager-emcee Al Wonder (Jolson), who after greeting his guests in a multitude of languages (a la Joel Grey in Cabaret) introduces a steady stream of top variety acts. The star attraction of the Wonder Bar floor show is the Latin dance team of Inez (Dolores Del Rio) and Harry (Ricardo Cortez). Al worships Inez from afar, but she is hopelessly in love with Harry, a no-good louse who is carrying on with Liane (Kay Francis), the wife of prominent banker Renaud (Henry Kolker). Meanwhile, German military officer Captain Von Ferring (Robert H. Barrat), who has lost his fortune to bad investments, enjoys one last fling at the Wonder Bar before committing suicide. The two main subplots converge when Inez stabs Harry out of pique, whereupon the ever-loyal Al deposits Harry's body in Von Ferring's car, knowing full well that Von Ferring intends to drive himself off a steep hill to his death. Never letting Inez find out that she killed Harry, Al stands stoically aside as she finds true happiness with composer Tommy (Dick Powell). Lest this all sound heavily somberly serious, it should be noted that Wonder Bar is chock full of laughs, from both Jolson (who runs through quite a repertoire of tried-and-true routines) and the drunken antics of "tired business men" Hugh Herbert and Hobart Cavanaugh. The musical numbers staged by Busby Berkeley range from sedate to incredible, with the bizarrely racist 10-minute "Goin' to Heaven on a Mule" (truly a jaw-dropping experience) falling into the latter category. The film's most outrageous moment, however, is an uninhibited chunk of homosexual humor on the dance floor ("Boys will be boys!", crows Jolson) which just barely squeaked past the Hollywood censors! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This cheapie but goodie stars Skeets Gallagher as a young man who doesn't want to be strong-armed into a questionable business deal by his pal Johnny Arthur. Thus, he tells Arthur that he doesn't need any extra money because he's inherited a million bucks. Soon a rumor spreads that Gallegher is worth several million -- and he dare not tell the truth for fear of causing his beloved aunt to suffer a fatal heart attack. Among the many perils facing the newly rich, our hero is forced to fend off the attentions of three predatory females. The familiar faces in the supporting cast include three veterans of the Hal Roach two-reeler mill: Pansy Johnny Arthur, tough guy Walter Long, and Gracie Allen sound-alike Gay Seabrook. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This brisk Monogram melodrama includes all the requisite entertainment elements: Talented cast, solid story, a plenitude of suspense, and a few bonus song numbers. Arnold Gray plays Grant Murdock, a popular radio crooner who, truth be told, can't sing a note. For appearance's sake, the handsome Murdock is propped up before the microphone while his voice is supplied by homely hunchback Norman Wilder (Ralph Forbes). When Murdock is murdered, suspicion immediately falls upon Wilder -- who in fact had intended to bump off the phony, except that someone beat him to it. Knowing that no one will believe his story, Wilder scurries off into the night, with police hot on his heels. The actual culprit very nearly gets off scot-free but is ultimately undone by a sudden attack of conscience -- too late, alas, to save Murdock from his inexorable fate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Echec au Roi (The King Checkmated) was adapted from The Queen's Husband, a play by Robert E. Sherwood. The story concentrates on the amiable but ineffectual king (Emile Chautard) of a mythical island who gets more than he bargained for when his wife, the Queen (Francoise Rosay) decides to visit the U.S. While he dutifully accompanies the Queen to the States, a revolution breaks out in his own land. Adding to his headaches is the fact that his daughter, Princess Anne (Pauline Garon), insists upon marrying a commoner. Acting without the Queen's approval for the first time in his life, the King settles his island's internal problems and gives his blessing to his daughter's fiancee. Echec au Roi was the first French-language film to be released by United Artists; its English-language counterpart, The Royal Bed, had previously been distributed by RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Le Spectre Vert (The Green Spook) is the French-language version of MGM's The Unholy Night. The original English version was directed by Lionel Barrymore, while the French adaptation was helmed by Jacques Feyder. No changes were made in the plot, which concerned the mysterious methodical murders of several retired British military officers. All of the victims had been members of the same regiment in India, a fact which puts terror in the hearts of the surviving officers. These survivors are gathered together in the home of Lord Montague (Andre Luguet, in the role originally played by Roland Young); the next morning, all the officers except Montague are found strangled. Struggling to solve the mystery and stop the killings is Inspector Ramsay of the Yard (Claude Fleming in the English version, Jules Raucourt in the French), who uses a seance to coerce the guilty party into confessing. Boris Karloff, cast in the small role of a Hindu servant in The Unholy Night, repeated this assignment in Le Spectre Vert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While investigating a double murder, reporters Grant Withers and Marian Nixon fall in love. ~ All Movie Guide

Defying her strait-laced aunt, country lass Pauline Garon heads to New York, where she gets a job as a cabaret dancer. Gangster Wheeler Oakman falls in love with Garon, and he's not a man to take "no" for an answer. In fact, whenever someone else expresses an interest in the girl, that someone else usually winds up full of bullet holes. But Garon is devoted to wastrelly Robert Agnew, whose fondness for liquor clouds his affections for the heroine. Oakman is all set to bump off Agnew, but he changes his mind when Garon's life is placed in jeopardy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A long-lost service comedy from Poverty Row entrepreneur Morris R. Schlank, Dugan of the Dugouts starred Danny O'Shea in the title-role as a "dance hall lad" joining the army because his girl friend, Betty (Pauline Garon), likes a man in uniform. There is a nasty top sergeant (Ernest Hilliard), who proves to be a foreign spy and the denouement has friends and foes alike under the influence of laughing gas. Producer Schlank, who released his films through Anchor Film Distribution, was a purveyor of inexpensive Hank Mann comedy one-reelers and very low-budget Westerns featuring the likes of Bob Reeves and Bill Patton. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide